176 now under the Portuguese, who took rich pickings from here and a great deal of riches from those who had stayed. The province of Pahang has its own king but is a tributary of this city and kingdom of Malacca. Previously, it was a vassal of Siam against which it rebelled. There is a lot of poor quality gold there. When its king heard that Malacca had become a subject of Our Lord and King, he sent an embassy and gifts to Afonso d’Albuquerque, as he wished to follow the same path. The Malacca Archipelago The coast that runs along from the city ofMalacca hasmany beautiful; rich and fertile islands, inhabited by Mouros and gentiles, in addition to other small inhabited ones, starting with the island of Ceylon. The Nicobar Islands Crossing the gulf beyond the island of Ceylon, the first place one reaches are some islands with excellent waters and moorings for ships, inhabited by poor gentiles, and called the Nicobars. The islanders collect a lot of ambergris which they take to Malacca and many other places. The very large island of Sumatra Going further beyond the Nicobar islands, one comes to the large and beautiful island of Sumatra, which has a circumference of around seven hundred leagues, as counted by the Mouros who sail on both sides of it. It has many rich seaports. Most are inhabited by Mouros and some by gentiles, but generally the gentiles live in the interior. The one called Pedir is Mouros. A lot of good pepper grows there, but it is neither as fine nor as strong as that of Malabar. Plenty of silk is also produced, but it is not as fine as the Chinese kind. The other ports are
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